Together Once More
by PocketSevens
Summary: She was still trying to get a handle on her situation when she heard a soft voice called to her: "Hello, Galinda." She turned to the source of the voice to see a woman standing there - a woman she hadn't seen for a very long time. One-shot that follows Ultimate Queen of Cliffies "No Day But Today" and "I'll Cover You".
**A/N - I swear I'm not stalking the Ultimate Queen of Cliffies' fics. Really, I'm not! :)**

 **But, yes, this is a fan fiction of a fan fiction: it's a follow-up one-shot to her stories "No Day But Today" and "I'll Cover You". This one-shot assumes you've read those two stories first. Even though Elphaba and Fiyero are together again, I** **dreamed up one last chapter to the series as I felt one last story needed to be told.**

 **Thank you, Maddy, for letting me post this.**

 **Disclaimer: Yeah, I own nothing.**

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Galinda bolted upright, suddenly filled with a burst of energy. Only mere moments ago, she felt like her body was too heavy for her to lift and her energy was quickly fading. Now, she felt renewed - refreshed somehow. It seemed strange since getting up from bed wasn't so disorienting before; however, this time, everything was in a fog.

She was still trying to get a handle on her situation when she heard a soft voice called to her:

"Hello, Galinda."

She turned to the source of the voice to see a woman standing there - a woman she hadn't seen for a very long time.

"Elphie?" she squeaked.

The green woman nodded with a sad smile on her face. "Yes, Glin. It's me."

Suddenly, upon realizing her long, lost best friend was standing there, the blonde launched herself towards the green woman with a happy shriek, throwing her arms around her and babbling incoherently.

"OhmyOzElphieI'vemissedyousomuch!It'sbeensolongIthinkthelasttimeIsawyouwas..."

It was in that moment that Galinda's words stuck in her throat as realization dawned on her.

 _The last time I saw her was when she **died**._

She pulled back from her friend with a horrified look. "Wait...if you're here...then, I'm..."

Slowly turning around, Galinda froze at the scene before her: she saw her elderly, frail body lying completely motionless in her bed. Beside her body, her daughter, the Queen of the Vinkus, wept in the arms of her husband as tears streamed down his face. Galinda's grandchildren also wrapped their arms around their mother.

They were all crying at the passing of the Dowager.

Galinda's heart broke as she watched the scene before her. She felt Elphaba walk up beside her and place a soft hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Glin. It's your time."

Galinda sadly nodded in understanding. "I understand, Elphie - I knew this time was coming."

Motioning towards the door, Elphaba then suggested, "Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

As they walked through the castle, Galinda then asked, "So, what's it like in the afterlife? Were you sent here to come get me? "

Blushing, Elphaba replied, "Actually, Glin, I didn't move on...I never left."

"What?" Galinda shrieked. "You mean you were here the _whole time_?"

"I swore I'd haunt you, remember?" Elphaba joked.

This caused the blonde to stop walking. "Why?" she then asked, somewhat shocked. "Why did you stay?"

"Honestly, I was waiting for _you_."

At the emerald woman's response, Galinda threw her arms around her friend again.

"You are the bestest friend anybody could ask for," she exclaimed. "Thank you."

They made their way to the castle gardens. As they stepped into the sunlight, Galinda looked at her hands and realized they didn't hold the same frail look as before: they looked younger. She then felt for her hair, noticing it didn't feel like the grey hair that had adorned her head previously. As they happened to pass by a pond, Galinda peered in hoping to see a reflection of herself. However, she jumped when the pool reflected back nothing.

"Looking for something?" Elphaba joked and Galinda shook her head.

"I guess I was expecting to see what I looked like."

"You're dead, Glin. The water won't reflect back your image."

Pouting, Galinda then turned and asked, "So, how do I look, then?"

"Like the Galinda I first met at Shiz," Elphaba replied.

The blonde then joked, "Oh, good. Now I don't have to worry about dealing with those awful wrinkles anymore."

Elphaba rolled her eyes at her friend's response but couldn't help but smile - so typical of Galinda. "Even in death you're still worried about your looks."

"Of course," the blonde exclaimed. "If I'm going to pass on to the next life, I want to look my best!"

Even with rolling her eyes again, Elphaba wrapped her arms around the blonde. "Oz, I've missed you, Glin."

They laughed as they sat on a bench in the middle of the garden. Galinda then asked Elphaba, "So, you've been waiting here the whole time, have you? What did you see while you were here?"

"I saw everything, Glin. I was here for everything."

Elphaba's answer suddenly unnerved the blonde. "Well...not _everything_ , I hope."

Elphaba cackled in response. "No, Glin. Not _everything_. For Oz sakes, even I know there are _some_ things that are private."

After they both laughed in response, Elphaba continued. "But, I was there when you and Fiyero got married and I saw you hold your daughter for the first time. I watched over you as your daughter grew up; when she took the throne to become Queen. I laughed when I saw you play with your grandchildren."

She then added, "I was even sitting beside you when you and Fiyero would come down and talk to me at my grave."

A smile broke out on the blonde's face. "I had a feeling that you were there. I didn't know why at the time, but I knew you were there."

Suddenly, Elphaba looked down at her hands, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "And...I came with you to the Emerald Palace...when you confronted the Wizard..."

"So, you know, then," Galinda interrupted, realizing what she was saying. "You know he is your real father."

Nodding, Elphaba replied, "I do. Not that it changes anything, but..."

"It caused him to revoke the Animal bans," Galinda interjected.

"I know," Elphaba conceded. "But, as far as _my_ life, it wouldn't have changed anything. Even if I had known the truth, I would have still fought him to free the Animals."

Galinda reached over and took her friend's hand. Giving it a comforting squeeze, she replied, "I know, Elphie. We all knew that you would do the right thing."

They sat in silence for a few moments before a thought struck the blonde. "You said you were here the whole time. Does that mean you were here when Fiyero passed?" When the green girl nodded, Galinda continued. "I kind of expected that you and Fiyero would move on to the afterlife once you were back together."

Sighing, the green girl replied, "To be honest, we were going to move on. But as we got closer, we stopped and came back."

"Why?" Galinda asked perplexed.

Elphaba smiled in response, squeezing her friend's hand. "We didn't feel right to go on without you. So, we decided to wait."

Galinda then asked, "Speaking of which, where is Fiyero?"

A new voice replied, "Right here."

Galinda watched as Fiyero came around the corner, looking as handsome as he did when they got married. She got up and hugged the prince, kissing him on the cheek. "Were you waiting there the whole time?"

"Yeah," he sheepishly replied. "I wanted to assess the 'awkwardness' of the situation."

"Of _what_ situation?"

"Well," he replied, suddenly adjusting his collar to loosen his shirt. "...the awkwardness of being caught between the two women in my life."

"Don't be silly," she admonished him. "We both know that you were Elphie's to begin with. I just got to take care of you for a while."

"And thanks for looking after him for me," Elphaba added, walking up to the couple. Galinda blushed as Fiyero pulled the green woman closer and kissed the top of her head.

"So, what now?" Galinda asked her friend. "Do we pass on to some great light or new land or something?"

Shrugging, Elphaba replied, "I don't know. I have no idea how this 'afterlife' thing works..."

Suddenly, a woman's voice interrupted them. "Actually, that's why I'm here."

All three friends turned to the sound of the voice and Elphaba's jaw fell open at the woman walking towards them.

Tears formed in the green woman's eyes. "Mamma?"

Before them stood Melena Thropp, looking like the young mother Elphaba remembered.

"Hello, sweetheart. I've missed you."

As sob escaped Elphaba's lips as she ran and embraced her mother. The elder Thropp rubbed her daughter's back speaking soothing words.

"I've missed you, Elphaba, but I've been watching over you. You've done good."

"I missed you too, Mamma," Elphaba croaked.

Pulling back, Elphaba motioned towards her friends. "Mom, meet Fiyero and Galinda: my best friends."

As Fiyero shook Melena's hand, he smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise, your Majesty," Melena replied. "Thank you for looking after my daughter."

"Anytime," he replied, winking at Elphaba and causing the green woman to blush.

"Hi," Galinda then interjected thrusting her hand at Melena. "Galinda Upland of the..." The blonde then blushed at realizing the absurdity of her usual introduction.

"I mean... _formally_ of the Upper Uplands."

Elphaba couldn't help but let a small cackle escape her lips.

After introductions were over, Melena told the three friends, "I've been sent to bring you all home. While you have all been given time to wait for each other, it's now time to go on."

"Wait!" Galinda cried. "Can I just have a minute to do one more thing?"

Nodding knowing what the blonde woman wanted to do, Melena replied, "Go do what you must, but hurry."

Galinda ran into the castle and, after a few frantic moments of searching, found her daughter sitting in her room staring blankly out the window. She was completely dressed in a simple black dress with a black lace veil over her face - the typical royal dress of mourning. Holding a handkerchief in her hand, the Queen lifted the veil and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Before Galinda could say anything, however, her daughter spoke:

"I love you, Mom. I'll miss you, but say 'hi' to Dad for us, ok?"

Galinda's heart broke as her daughter's voice cracked. She knew her daughter wouldn't be able to hear her but she still wanted to tell her just the same:

"You are a great Queen, and the Vinkun people are fortunate to have you ruling over them. Serve them well and look after each other while I'm gone, ok? I'll see you when it's your time."

Before turning, Galinda then jokingly added: "Until then, be good or I _will_ come back and haunt you."

She turned to leave but then saw Elphaba and Fiyero standing there with Melena, and she smiled as she saw her friends' hands joined together.

Wrapping her arm around Elphaba's free arm, she nodded. "I'm ready."

Elphaba turned to Melena. "We're ready."

Melena smiled. "Let's go then."

"Where are we going?" Elphaba asked her mother.

She just smiled and replied, "Some place wonderful."

They followed Melena out of the castle towards the unknown - Elphaba walked with Fiyero on one side and Galinda on the other.

The green woman smiled knowing that, no matter what happened, they were together once more.


End file.
